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Strengthening Democracy

A collection of 26 issues

Preparing for the Road Ahead

On a bitter January DC day in 2009, Congressman John Lewis approaches Barack Obama, who moments ago was sworn in as President. The Congressman holds out a commemorative photo to the new President. Would you sign this? he asks. The President autographs the photo. First, though, he writes four words:

One Invaluable Action for This Moment

How many journalists does it take to change a lightbulb? the old joke goes. Journalists just report the facts, they don't change them. At first glance, this joke doesn't age well. Much of the media seems to treat facts like Play-Do: highly pliable. Except nowadays, much

How to Make a Real Impact This Election

Whenever I see a spray of political signs, I always look for the names I don't recognize. And the reason is simple: those are likely the races where I can have the most impact. There's a good chance that these are signs for local races – school

The Race We Aren't Talking About

I want to talk about 26 people in a rural pocket of Maine. But let's set the scene first. We're about 12 miles northwest of Portland in a town called Windham. It's home to about 19,000 people, give or take a few hundred

Making Good Change No Matter the Election Outcome

My favorite annual seed catalog just arrived in the mailbox, signaling the start of autumn. It comes on that wonderful old newsprint that leaves ink residue on your fingertips. The page of peach trees has instructions for grilling peaches; the page of shrubs has encouraging reminders not to give up

One Immediate Action for a Stronger Democracy

Just about every state legislator I talk to says the same thing: I don't hear from constituents. Now mine is a petite sample size; America has 7,575 state representatives/senators/delegates/assembly members and I've spoken to about 11 of them. But it's

How Much Do Your Legislators Make

"Bush horrified to learn Presidential salary," the October 2000 Onion article read. "A measly couple hundred grand a year?" the soon-to-be-president was "quoted" as saying. "Not per month, even? Because I've already spent more than $60 million to get this job.

Two Words to Up Your Policy Game

I was once at a country fair filled with blooming onions and handmade soaps, workshops on sheep shearing and DIY blacksmithing. I stopped into a talk on climate advocacy where the audience sat on hay bales and the presenter gave a super overview on how to be a climate advocate.

Three Powerful Policy Words

The U.S. Senators from Maryland and Virginia were not well pleased with the recent Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization. The FAA oversees aviation (of the non-military varietal) in the United States, including things like air traffic controllers, airport modernization, and consumer protections. More on all that here. And reauthorization

Why Term Limits Don't Quite Strengthen Democracy

There is a bumper sticker I see from time to time: "Congress isn't a nursing home. Support term limits." With 65 members (15%) of the U.S. House and 34 members (34%) of the Senate over 70, Congress does appear to lead the country in workplace